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Sorry mate, I didn’t tree you

Published:
14 June 2013

No amount of training can prepare us for some hazards of the road, as one riding instructor learned.

Barry Briggs had a lucky escape when a tree fell on him as he followed a student. The instructor was riding on the A606 near Upper Broughton, Nottinghamshire, when the tree fell across the entire width of the road.

Helmet camera footage shows it begin to fall just as he passes underneath. Branches crash onto his Kawasaki ER-6N, flattening the mirrors, but Briggs stays in control.

The motorcyclist of 35 years suffered bruised arms in the incident on Wednesday.

Briggs, 48, an instructor for Roadcraft in Nottingham, said: “As soon as I saw the tree I tried to move as far away from it as I could. The branches came down and smashed my hands off the handlebars. I couldn’t see for a few seconds because of the amount of leaves. Then all of a sudden I started to see daylight again.

“I reached out for the handlebars and they weren’t there. Eventually I managed to find them lower down. Then I got hold of the brake and brought the bike under control.”

Briggs can be heard in the video saying: “That winded me… I’ve never had a tree fall on me before.”